The All Blacks have lost their aura of invincibility after their latest 16-9 defeat to Ireland in Dublin.
And that sets up next year’s World Cup in Japan brilliantly.
Having dominated world rugby for years, it now seems that teams are no longer intimidated by the black machine and believe that if they give their all against Kieran Read and his teammates, they can beat them.
This wasn’t the case a few months ago.
But then the Springboks got the better of the world champions in their own backyard during the Rugby Championship and now Ireland has proven that the northern hemisphere teams also have what it takes to get the better of the mighty All Blacks.
GROOTBEK: Pom boss Eddie Jones. Photo: NEIL HALL/EPA
What this means in terms of next year’s World Cup is that the All Blacks are no longer overwhelming favourites to walk away with the title.
Sure, they are still the team most likely to keep hold of the William Webb Ellis trophy, but they are being hunted and those who are doing the hunting know they can feed on this prey.
These end-of-year north-versus-south battles are always intriguing.
But while most of the matches have been rather boring, close affairs, New Zealand and Ireland put on a great display for the game of rugby.
The scoreline might not suggest an entertaining affair, but the match was played at a pace superior to any other I’ve watched over the last few weeks.
Then there was Japan who nearly stunned Eddie Jones and his England team.
I believe grootbek Jones wanted this battle to test his team and therefore openly laid down the challenge to the Japanese at press conferences leading up to the big match.
The Brave Blossoms responded just as the former Japan coach had hoped and took a surprise 15-10 lead at half - time.
England fought back as expected and ultimately won the match 35-15.
But what this proved was that just like four years ago when Japan stunned Heyneke Meyer’s Springboks at the World Cup, they won’t go down without a fight at next year’s global showpiece in their own backyard.
The so-called smaller nations are beginning to believe that they can topple the big guns.
And with imports playing a major part in international lineups these days, I am not ruling out a major shake-up in terms of the world rugby powers shifting in years to come.
INTERNATIONAL MOVE: SA-born CJ Stander
On Saturday, for example, South Africa faced three of their own in WP Nel, Josh Strauss and Alan Dell in their narrow 26-20 victory in Edinburgh.
CJ Stander represented Ireland in the win over the All Blacks, while Japan was also loaded with stars from other countries in their match against England.
According to a statistic I saw over the weekend, Scotland has a representation of 46.3 percent foreigners in their squad for the November series.
Japan was second on the “log” with a total representation of 37 percent, while even the All Blacks had a 12.5 percent total representation of players born outside of New Zealand.
HALF-TIME LEAD: The Japanese tested England
I am happy to report that, while South Africa are losing players because of this, we - along with Argentina - are the only two teams without players born outside of its country’s borders.
It is a trend that will only grow as the years go by.
Players want to play international rugby and if you can’t make it in your own country, go and do it somewhere else.
While I get the logic behind that, it amazes me to think that countries are going to war on the rugby field and some players are fighting their own.
Anyway, I believe this is healthy for smaller nations like Japan where rugby is definitely not as big a sport as down here in South Africa.
I also think that this movement will go a long way in the rise and fall of nations in the rugby fortunes.
As for New Zealand, they are no longer feared. And while it’s perhaps not South Africa that holds the biggest threat to them heading into the World Cup, coach Steve Hansen and his charges will know their title is under threat.
Judging by these internationals and the closeness of the games, I believe next year’s World Cup will be one of the most open tournaments ever.
I also believe one of the big dogs might crash out to a puppy and yes, it might even be the Kiwis.